I had the alpha 41 on mine; codnor light fabrications .On the basis a pattern 4 into 2 can cost around £3k I’m going with a nice 4 into 1. Delkavic do one that’s similar to the old Alpha pipes of the 80s for about £450
Project Christine. (GS1000s)
- Thread starter sycomoto
- Start date
Bet that sounded beefy.I had the alpha 41 on mine; codnor light fabrications .
Sounds good.
Today I’ve been trying to redo the loom behind the clocks. The original Suzuki effort oops like an explosion in a spaghetti factory. I’ve put new rubber boots on all the bulb holders and made a new neater loom for the backlight bulbs. Should look aload better than the original.
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Too hot
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Got to love an ice cream van.
Would love to restore one or even a Kawasaki Z1R
Good luck with it !
Would love to restore one or even a Kawasaki Z1R
Good luck with it !
Finding any 70s jap bike to restore is getting harder and harder. Plus getting a reso job is getting quite expensive. A guy in wales wants close to £3k for a 70% complete S but the missing bits make it a very expensive restoration. I do know of a very nice z1000 Lawson that a runner and usable but could do with a light resto for around £4k in Telford.
Bit of experimenting today. The original finish on the clock supports looked like a gold passivate finish. Over the years it went pretty manky so I thought I’d paint it in as close to original finish asi could find. Abit of a chat with our local paint guys and this is how its come out. Did something similar with the switchgear trying to get the right satin black finish. Pretty happy with the results.
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These bikes from the 70s are always expensive to restore, but stick with it. Try to get hold of a parts book as lots of parts were used universally and some are still available from the bandit etc. A good parts list and part numbers is invaluable. There are some useful US forums but you need to translate what our American friends are saying and ignore much of the excitement. Some sites can help with download original manuals and part lists plus wiring diagrams. The exhaust was always going to be expensive the I put together for my bike was made up from NOS 750/1000gs plus pattern silencers it cost the thick end of £700.
Good luck remember your at the entrance to a tunnel and you can't see the other end, yet.
This was the 850GS I restored, it arrived in 4 boxes and rolling chassis.
I owned a red and white one in 1980. I somehow managed to crack the crescent shaped glass serving the clock, oil and fuel gauges. A replacement cost me £19.00 which I thought was extortionate at the time, representing a significant part of my weekly wage. I reckon, factoring in 46 years of inflation, that to buy the glass today, as you have, should cost about £190.00.
Am I close?
Alan R
Am I close?
Alan R
No mate a guy on the GS site does a repro with seals for £40
I’m lucky the bikes 99.9% complete and bar the exhaust everything is pretty solid and reusable. There’s some excellent advice and help from the GS guys and they know where to find pretty much everything. Some parts like the fuel sender in the tank are unobtainable but a mod on a Suzuki jeep one solves the problem. The only other bit I’m struggling to find is the little rubber seal that goes around the clocks and finishes the joint between the clocks and the fairing.
Well this weeks been spent mostly getting parts ready for stripping. Getting bearings out of old wheels has been a challenge and today I made the mistake of lifting the whole engine into the back of my disco. I do need to remind myself sometimes at 55 I’m abit old for these shenanigans. I think for the next few days my chosen cologne will be deep heat with a hint af tiger balm.lol.
Next week will see the start of the motor strip. Should be interesting.
Next week will see the start of the motor strip. Should be interesting.
Wait till you’re my age mate!
So that’s all the bits been sent off for striping before they go off for paint. Engines been delivered to my engine builder par excellence Tim. He noticed the old girls had some pretty special fettling in her dim and distant past. I’m now kinda intrigued to see what’s been done inside. As the advert says” these are no ordinary ports these are M&S ports”
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Well it’s been a busy couple of weeks. Frame and bits are back from a chemical strip and blast. Frames pretty pitted on one side where the water ran off the tarp but she’s pretty solid underneath. So today has been spen etch priming and then spraying with filler primer. She’ll look good as new once rubbed down. The tank came back pretty mint but a few pin holes in the rear need sorting so it’s been handed over to an awesome guy to silver solder. Last but not least I’ve had a load of bits degreased in a super duper industrial jobbie then run through an ultrasonic. The brake calipers are in excellent condition with the pistons looking like brand new. So next off it’s a vapour blast and resprayed then some new seals and they will be good as new.
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Today I’ve been spraying and rubbing down the frame to sort out the rust that was on one side of the frame. The rust looked worse than it was but needed a lot of work with filler primer to get back something like. The pictures show ho it did look with the first coat and how it looks so far. Still needs abit more but it’s getting there.
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PlusGas is your new friend!! Looking forward to this. Thanks a lot.
Some jobs are best farmed out to the experts. The carbs although clean were looking tired in places. The gold nickel had turned to rust steel and the aluminium of the carb bodies looked dark and stained.
Well a week in the hands of Mr Wilkes and they’ve come back like this.
Better than brand new.
Well a week in the hands of Mr Wilkes and they’ve come back like this.
Better than brand new.
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